Ex-post evaluation of residential insulation program in the city of Temuco, Chile

Abstract

There is abundant literature about the impact of residential insulation on energy consumption using different methods. However, ex-post evaluation methods have not been used yet, which are helpful when the participants in a program are not chosen randomly. Therefore, this study performs the first ex-post evaluation of a residential insulation program using the “matching with differences-in-differences” method. This non-experimental method allows obtaining the causal impact of the program since it controls for observable factors and non-observable factors that are invariable over time. The data comes from a unique survey that includes energy consumption for heating and control variables for households benefited and not benefited by the program, both in the year before and after the retrofit. The results show that the residential insulation program does not significantly reduce energy consumption or external PM2.5 emissions in the treated dwellings. Still, there is a significant increase in the perception of thermal comfort associated with the rebound effect. Thus, it is concluded that the program has not been an effective tool to reduce air pollution, but it improves the quality of life through an increase in thermal comfort.